How The Wiki Turns :: Jim Nabors (Now and Then)

Last week's announcement of Jim Nabors' marriage to his long-time partner in Washington state brought the 82-year old actor back into the daily meme. But when did the "perennial bachelor," long rumored to be involved with Rock Hudson, come out of the closet?

To find out, we Wikied him. And found the following:

"On January 29, 2013, Hawaii News Now reported that Nabors married his partner of 38 years, Stan Cadwallader, at Seattle, Washington's Fairmont Olympic Hotel on January 15, a month after same-sex marriage became legal in Washington.

"An urban legend maintains that Nabors married Rock Hudson in the 1970s. In fact, the two were never more than friends. According to Hudson, the legend originated with a group of "middle-aged homosexuals who live in Huntington Beach" who sent out joke invitations for their annual get-together. One year, the group invited its members to witness "the marriage of Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors," at which Hudson would take the surname of Nabors' most famous character, Gomer Pyle, becoming "Rock Pyle." Those who failed to get the joke spread the rumor. At the time Nabors was dating his boyfriend, Stan, whom he eventually married; Hudson was also gay but closeted, and because of the fear that one or both of them might be outed, Nabors and Hudson never spoke to each other again."

Curious if this was some Wiki revision, we Googled Nabors and found a reference from not so long ago missing from his current one. From Village Voice on July 1, 2011:

"Gaaaaayyyyyy Jim Nabors Is Straight, Says Wikipedia Page!"

In it he cites a quote on Nabors’ (then) Wiki page, sworn to be true by his friend Carol Burnett:

"As he was ’never without a job’ for four decades, Nabors has never married: according to him, he was ’really more married to his career.’

"Consequently, he has been the target of rumors alleging he is gay."

The current Nabors entry doesn’t have Nabors "married to his career," But does suggest he was married to someone:

"After moving to Hawaii from Bel Air, California with his partner Stan Cadwallader, in 1976, he launched a show, "The Jim Nabors Polynesian Extravaganza" at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which ran for two years."